Lottery games have evolved from the original passive draw-type lottery to instant winning games to lotto jackpot type games. The passive draw-type game includes the purchase of a pre-numbered ticket. These tickets were generally sold in ascending numerical order and after a certain period of time the winning number, corresponding to a number on one of the tickets sold, is selected and the prize is awarded to the holder of the ticket bearing:the selected winning number.
Instant winning games generally include a ticket with a scratch-off film where removal of the film reveals a selection of items randomly arranged and subsequently matched according to a predetermined winning scheme. This winning scheme could be based on, for example, a common game like poker, wherein the strength of the poker hand exposed on the ticket determines the prize won. The winning scheme may also be based on the matching of three identical images, for example.
The jackpot lotto game is generally played by randomly picking six numbers within a predetermined set of numbers such as from 1 to 49. These six numbers may be selected by a computer or may be selected by the player and validated by a lottery operator. Generally, with the long odds of winning the game, no particular ordering of numbers is required by the operator for a winning scenario. A winning number set is typically randomly selected from a mixing machine containing balls numbered from, for example, 1 to 49, by the lottery operator. In order to determine if the ticket wins a prize, the player simply checks the ticket to see if the number set on the ticket matches the number set drawn by the lottery operator.
Among those lottery type games wherein some ordering of numbers may be required for a winning scenario, U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,049 discloses a lottery game, which is played by initially selecting a plurality of multiple digit rows of numbers, wherein each row is offset from the preceding row, when imprinted on the ticket. A player will win if they can match at least some numbers from a drawn set of numbers, to numbers consecutively displayed in a row or column on a ticket, wherein matching all of the numbers across produces a jackpot winner. Matching some of the numbers either across or down also produces a prize-winning ticket. The winning scheme for this lottery game is determined by the number of consecutive digits matched on the ticket and is not dependent on the location of the matched digits in a particular row or column.
This background information is provided for the purpose of making known information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.